The present invention relates to an oil-flow regulator for vacuum pumps in milking systems in which the amount of oil to be introduced flows out of an oil chamber into an aerated catch chamber through an annular gap between a valve cone and a restrictor associated with the cone and at least one oil line leads from the catch chamber to the the vacuum pump.
Oil-flow regulators of this type, in which the amount of oil to be introduced is established by varying the distance between the valve cone and the restrictor, are known. To prevent oil from continuing to flow into the vacuum pump once the pump has been turned off, the oil-flow regulator must be lower than the site of lubrication at the vacuum pump so that the oil will be suctioned out of the catch chamber by the partial vacuum produced by the pump only when the pump is in operation. The catch chamber, however cannot be prevented from filling up with oil once the pump has been turned off, and this oil will be lost when the pump resumes operation.
Since the amount of oil consumed by the vacuum pumps is a basic parameter of the operating costs of milking systems, obtaining the lowest possible consumption is especially significant. Still, satisfactory oil flow must simultaneously always be ensured, and this is accomplished in particular by positioning the regulator where it will always be visible so that that dripping can always be monitored. This is impossible, however, with known oil-flow regulators because they always have to be positioned so low.